ING Groep NV Takes Position in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD)

ING Groep NV bought a new position in Woodward, Inc. (NASDAQ:WWD - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 6,100 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $1,113,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Xponance Inc. raised its position in shares of Woodward by 1.2% in the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 6,830 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,246,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Woodward by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 7,649 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,396,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Woodward by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 1,501 shares of the technology company's stock worth $274,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC lifted its position in Woodward by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,612 shares of the technology company's stock worth $294,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TCTC Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Woodward by 116.7% during the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 182 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. 81.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on WWD. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Woodward from $267.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Woodward from $175.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Woodward from $229.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. Northcoast Research upgraded shares of Woodward to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Woodward from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $291.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $249.63.

Woodward Stock Down 0.6%

WWD opened at $251.70 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $15.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 1.39. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $245.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $206.76. Woodward, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $146.82 and a fifty-two week high of $267.45.

Woodward (NASDAQ:WWD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The technology company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $915.45 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $884.98 million. Woodward had a net margin of 11.32% and a return on equity of 16.57%. The firm's revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.63 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Woodward, Inc. will post 6.15 EPS for the current year.

Woodward Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 21st. Woodward's dividend payout ratio is currently 17.72%.

Insider Activity

In other Woodward news, CEO Charles P. Blankenship sold 2,450 shares of Woodward stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.85, for a total transaction of $565,582.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 64,739 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,944,998.15. This trade represents a 3.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Randall Hobbs sold 846 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $211,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 48,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,245,250. The trade was a 1.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 39,296 shares of company stock worth $8,711,033. Company insiders own 0.82% of the company's stock.

Woodward Profile

Woodward, Inc designs, manufactures, and services control solutions for the aerospace and industrial markets worldwide. The company operates in two segments, Aerospace and Industrial. The Aerospace segment provides fuel pumps, metering units, actuators, air valves, specialty valves, fuel nozzles, and thrust reverser actuation systems for turbine engines and nacelles, and flight deck controls, actuators, servocontrols, motors, and sensors for aircraft.

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